I love both the Pirates and the Orioles but I'm starting to find over time that I can't stand listening to a Pirates game because of the announcers. I know the Orioles announcers aren't the greatest and the recent addition of Mike Bordick is so boring, but the other guys at least have interesting voices even if they say dumb stuff a lot (Jim Palmer). Only reason I mention this is because I was watching the highlights of the home runs tonight and I already can't stand the Pirates announcers because they are just sooooo boring but then he started pulling an espn and saying stupid stuff like alex presley hits it deep and he's all shook up or garrett gi jones. These are things people mock espn sportscenter analysts for and people like stuart scott. It's what people like the kaboom goes the dynamite guy get mocked for. It's terrible, no personality sports announcing/reporting. Basically what I'm saying is, can we please get some other people to announce these games for the love of god. What is wrong with just getting excited about the home runs and not trying to say some stupid nickname or clever saying, nobody can stand it. Not sure if everyone agrees with me but man are they boring and lame. McCutchen is still the best player in baseball though.

Harry Calas.

I am with you on the Pirate announcers.I have listened on the radio since 1947. Rosey Rosewell was announcing and it was terrible.Then along came Bob Prince and Jim Woods and games became exciting to hear.Other announcers have been ok (cant remember names lol) but now..Oh man its a struggle to listen.The team is doing well ,but you think your listening to a chess match..

For what it is worth I do like Brown , he can bring some excitement into the game . I agree Cutch is the man !

"It's terrible, no personality sports announcing/reporting."

Using nicknames seems to be trying to show personality.

"nobody can stand it."

Speak for yourself. I like the Pirates announcers.

Those sportscenter guys, and for that matter, any play by play guy love it when they get mocked for a phrase of theirs. It's what they want, a catch phrase.

You can put it on the board....YES

Play-by-Play

Greg Brown - I like Brownie. He brings excitement to the game and I look forward to the call "Raise the Jolly Roger."

Tim Neverett - solid, not spectacular. He needs to be paired with a good color guy to be interesting.

Color

Steve Blass - I really like Blass. He brings great stories about Pirates past to game. I did notice tension between Brown and Blass in their last TV broadcast together. Both appear to be fighting for the spotlight when paired together.

Bob Walk - terrible, dull, goes on ridiculous tangents at times.

John Wehner - terrible, not quite as bad Shannon Sharpe on CBS when it comes to enunciating. But, his lisp is distracting and he is just not interesting enough to overcome it.

Brown is probably the best of the crew....But i was comparing to past announcers and this team dont pass muster....

pagBuc,

I like the announcers and such. Baseball is entertainment to the fans and to ex-ball players who find themselves in the booth after their playing days it is probably difficult not to LOL at times.

Many years ago when I was much younger the news readers were often very average to ugly men and woman who just read the news. You listened because IT was the only real link we had to what was going on in the world and well in the next community. They did not put forward a glamorous presentation of visual 'candy' if you will. You could call it a simpler presentation for a simpler people.

I say this because compared to the rest of baseball in Pittsburgh we had Bob Prince. He sounded horrible. He was a drunkard and he smoked a pack of a cigarettes a game! The visual on TV was basically a simple stat line and the field itself. Other cities had monotonous ball and strike calls or 'It is a home run...' We had 'KISS IT GOOD BYE!'. Bob Prince was ahead of his time and he was an entertainer above all else. Today we have mostly monotonous newsreaders again for the most part.

Baseball is a game. Baseball is entertainment.

I really like Greg Brown. Face it, when a big moment happens for the Pirates, people want to hear Greg Brown's call. He has grown on me. My biggest criticism of him is that if the Pirates are losing big, but not playing horrid, you can tell he's disinterested. That's where the greats are the greats, you have to find something to hold the listeners. Unfortunately, none of them do, save for Steve Blass at times.

In his defense, he's been getting the Lanny Frattare treatment for a while. Milo andLanny had it rough at first, and Milo became the sacraficial lamb after following Prince. A portion of Brown's call of McKenry's HR last year is still used in an MLB Network montage.

It's interesting around here that, "Raise the Jolly Roger" or "he's in there with a trip-trip-TRIPLE" two of his signature calls, are put down by some of the sports media, yet "call Arnold Slick from Turtle Creek" is sheer brilliance. (BTW I love Mike Lange, so no one best read into that) I think around here, once you outlast them all, you finally get some recognition for being original. I don't know when Lange started his sayings, I didn't live in the area when he first started for the Pens.

But Brown shouldn't be castigated IMHO. His enthusiasm is genuine, and let's face it, he has NEVER had a team worth a hoot to even announce for. Even us loyal Mike Lange followers know he went into a funk after Lemieux retired and the Penguins became rotten again. He just wasn't the same, seemed disinterested, and his calls seemed more like, "oh yeah....he shoots.....he scores...scratch me with something...sigh".

i have no problem with them.

having said that i've had the pleasure & dis pleasure of living in the Philly, NY markets for the last 20 yearsand have got to hear probably the best baseball announcer i've ever heard in Harry Kalas (rip) and before that I lived in Maryland and got to listen to Jim Miller before he got famous and on espn.

in comparison MLB had the braves Nationals on and were using the nationals broadcast team and talk about the worst

a guy swings and tries to check but doesn't come close to checking it bat was almost pointed at the pitcher and called a strike on the swing cause the pitch was actually shoulder height and about 6 inches off the plate.

the annoucner goes crazy about how that's the worst called strike he's ever seen and goes on about how the pitch wasn't close to being in the strike zone. never once mentioning the fact that the ump actually pointed to the batter to indicate the strike was on the swing. or the fact that he swung.

so that was strike two

next pitch is 2 inches above the knee and catches the plate about 3 inches from the corner and is called strike three.

he goes off again about how that should ahve been a ball as well. he finally shut up when the broadcast team should the strike zone graphic and pitch location as a clear strike not even boarderline.

was one of the worst announcing jobs i've ever heard.

Announcing 162 games a year is absolutely brutal. I have great respect for all five of the Pirate announcers. Certainly as broadcasters it is difficult to compare them to other crews, because unlike other crews, these guys have never announced for a winning team.

Imagine that. Never, and I mean NEVER, NOT ONCE, ANNOUNCING FOR A WINNING TEAM. NOT A PLAYOFF TEAM, JUST A WINNING TEAM.

With that said, Steve Blass is as bad as you can get as a broadcaster, but as GREAT as you can get as a MAN. So, I put up with it, knowing that he is such a great human being.

Greg Brown has been with this team for so long, I am surprised he doesn't go koo-koo more often, lol. I don't blame Greg for anything he does in the booth, I have the highest respect for him for just LASTING this long.

Tim Neverette is a solid professional, who also has worked with the Rockies. He's a solid announcer. Not great, but very professional.

Bob Walk has gotten much much better in the past five years. I think Walk is the best of all of our announcers. He's the only one who tells it like it is, and doesn't spin.

John Wehner brings his experience playing the game to the booth, and talks in plain terms, and is very safe with what he says. Wehner often gives the other team credit. Too often in my view. That reeks of spin. Wehner consistently takes the company man route when it comes to bad play on the part of the Pirates. In my view, he needs to work on being more honest about the Pirates.

Kent Tekulve is a shill for Bob Nutting and has no business announcing anything. He is the ultimate company man, and should be ashamed of himself for bowing down to Nutting.

Rob King has potential as an announcer. Good easy style, good pace, and no gimmicks. I really believe if they break up the staff, that they should keep King and Walk.

'''.....he scores...scratch me with something...sigh".

LOL!!!!!!

Greg Brown will always be my favorite announcer out of the group. His enthusiasm is what does it for me, I find that im dissapointed when im watching homerun highlights and it's Neverett calling instead of Brown.

Personally I can't stand when Neverett gets excited about something. I think he sounds like a dam clown when making his homerun calls. "Waaaaaaaay back and goone"

I find Blass to be so bad of an announcer that it's actually entertaining. If you notice, at least once a game he'll say something that makes no sense at all.

I don't mind either of the other two color guys although I do enjoy Walk more than Wehner just because sometimes Walk will talk about funny things like eating ice cream and sandwiches.

And less we ever forget this epic call from our boys. Good lord just listen to Blass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC4HROjtLUc

Idk I've always loved our play by play guys. I guess it's because baseball was my first sport I got into as a kid and hearing these guys just feels right as opposed to anyone else. I really don't see what the problem is that everyone is complaining about

Since the pirates haven't been "losing big" brown seems to be re-energized about this team as are most fans of this team

Yeah Greg Brown has always been my favorite of the group as well

Whenever a big play happens, I definitely look for Brown's call no doubt. What announcers you like I think comes down to a preference of sorts, because there are certain announcers everyone likes that I can't stand (like Duane Kiper out here for the SF Giants, hate those calls).

I know this may be a little cliched, but I like the old guard best (like Vin Scully). You can tell they grew up in the radio age, and paint a picture for the listener as opposed to just calling what they see (Matt Kemp swings, and it flies 400 ft for a home run, yay)